Sunday, April 8, 2018 - Friday, April 13, 2018 - Catching Up Again!

Sunday, April 8, 2018 

I woke up around 2am and after laying in bed for close to an hour I finally just got up.  I know I may be sorry for doing this later, but if you can't sleep....sometimes it's best to just get up and do something.  So I wrote yesterday's blog post.

Once Dean was up I asked him about doing some laundry.  Bentley has a leak and I know he wanted to try and figure out where and what before I did any laundry.  While he's not sure, he thinks it might be coming from the washer/dryer.  He wants to pull it out and take a look at the "inspection panel" before I do any, so it will be later today before I tackle that chore.

After breakfast, and showering I was soon ready for church.  Cindy wanted to go with me this morning and Misti and Haleigh wanted a ride, so I left earlier than normal in order to pick them up.  I drove the truck and it sure drives better on those old country roads than my van does!  It may become my vehicle of choice on Sunday mornings!   It was good to be back at our little country church and to see so many friends after being away for so long.     

After getting everyone back home, including me - Dean told me he was planning to take a look at Bentley's water leak while I was at my sister Cindy's.  Today is her Sunday for Sisterfest.  I have three sisters. I am the oldest, then Cindy, followed by Crystal.  My youngest sister Jody is just shy of being 6 years younger than me.  We are very close.  Around the time my mom passed away we had started visiting our (paternal) Papa Blackledge on a weekly basis.  He had been sick and in and out of the hospital quite a bit.  Sometimes we all went, but we tried to make sure at least one of us went each week and more often when we could.  When he passed away a year after our mom, we just seemed to transfer that weekly visit to Daddy. He was often there when we visited Papa, so it seemed the natural thing to do.  After Daddy died in 2008, we didn't get together for a short time afterwards - a bit of a healing process, I guess.  Within a month or two we began our regular Sunday afternoon get togethers only now we take turns hosting.  Being the oldest I have the first Sunday, and it just moves down the line.  We do not get together on the 5th Sunday.  Next month will be 11 years since Daddy died.  It's hard to believe that much time has passed.  Of course, I'm looking forward to going to Cindy's today since I've not been here for over 3 months and I've been missing them terribly.  It will be great to spend the next several Sundays with them before we take off again.  I fully intended to get a selfie of all of us together but we were too busy talking to think about pictures, I guess.

When I returned home, Dean told me he found the leak.  The trap on the drain for the washer/dryer combo unit needed to be tightened.  He said it only took about about a quarter of a turn and it stopped, so it was not even a continuous drip, and it was running straight down the side of the hose.  Fortunately no damage occurred and we caught it early.  We've had the unit less than a month, so we are fortunate he happened to notice it outside.  Had the weather not been so cold since we've been here, where he was switching us from city water to using our water storage tank in Bentley it's possible he might not have noticed it.  We truly believe God watches out for us and we believe this is one of those times he did.

For dinner I made hamburgers, frying them in my cast iron skillet inside.  It was too cold to cook outside, besides Dean doesn't even have the grill out.  They were quite good and then Dean helped me with the dishes.  American Idol came on before we finished, but it was easy to keep an eye on the TV while we finished up.  I'm blessed to have such a wonderful husband.  He takes very good care of me.

While it was a busy day, it was a bit slower paced than the past couple of days.  My lack of sleep last night is catching up with me and I hope I sleep well tonight.


Monday, April 9, 2018   

I was in bed by 10:00 last night and didn't wake up until 6:00 this morning.  I felt rested.

Today was another busy day.  I did a couple of loads of laundry this morning.  Dean had a doctor's appointment in Joplin at 1:30.  It didn't take too long and we were back home by 3:00 or so.  I started tackling a job I want to get done before we leave the end of May, and that is to go through everything in Bentley and determine what I can either get rid of or that can go to the storage unit.  I filled two tubs up, plus have a pile of things stacked on the couch.  I still have several other cabinets to go through but I made a big dent in the process. Afterwards, I did another load of laundry, made dinner and watched American Idol.  



Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - Doctor Appointment, Laundy, Cleaning, Tennis Tournament

This morning I had an appointment with my primary care physician to talk to her about the bouts of dry heaves, and heartburn I've been having.  The heartburn has not been bad, but it started shortly after the last episode of dry heaves.  She wants me to have an EGD. I have an appointment with my provider at the Cherokee Health Center in Vinita on Thursday.  I'll take the order to her and she will get it scheduled at the hospital in Tahlequah.

Sunrise on my way to Webb City, MO this morning.

I made a stop at Walmart to pick up a few things before heading back to Oswego.  Once the groceries were put away I washed another load of laundry, then dusted and vacuumed Bentley.  I just have to say again how much I love this washer/dryer unit.   I'm so glad Dean pushed me to move forward on this purchase.

We had leftover hamburgers for lunch and then I did a final load of laundry before we left to attend our grandson Tucker's tennis tournament in Parsons.  It started at 3 pm.  He played three matches and won one of them.   We enjoyed watching him.  

Tucker is on the far side of the net.

Everyone else finished up their matches before his final match was over.  Since they were waiting on him so they could leave, we didn't talk to him afterwards.  However, he sent a text and a picture of the medal he received.  We hope to see him and his sister Dacy this coming weekend.  It's hard to find the time on a school day to spend much time with them.  They are a busy family with chores and schoolwork.  Both he and Dacy have a couple of goats they are raising for the fair this year, besides training their horses for fair competition as well, let alone work, sports and homework.

It was after six before the tennis tournament was over, so we stopped at Chinese Chef in Parsons for a quick dinner.  We called our grandson Logan to see if he wanted to go eat with us, since he lives at the college dorms in Parsons, but he was in Chetopa visiting a friend.  The food was pretty good although they didn't have my favorite on the buffet this evening - General Tso's.  By the time we got home it was close to 7:30.  We watched some TV before calling it a night.

Sunset when we returned to the RV Park.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018 

This morning I went to BIble Study.  I've missed seeing my friends each week while we've been gone and it was so good to see them all.  I had to leave early though.  We are meeting some friends in Grove for lunch at the Cherokee Casino.  We've never eaten here before but we've heard some good reviews.

We met up with two couples we spent time with in Texas, Dennis & Pam, and Olen & Kathy, plus Phil & Janelle and their granddaughter Avery, and Pam's brother-in-law and sister Rogers and Loretta.  We met them all through our Escapees camping group.  We had a great time visiting with all of them.  I've made bread pudding several times over the past year for several occasions - and Loretta is the person who gave me the recipe.  I shared with her how much everyone has enjoyed it.

From the end and then left:  Dennis, Loretta, Rogers, Janelle, Avery, Olen, Kathy, Phil, Dean, and Pam

Dean and I both chose the Indian Taco for our lunch - a piece of fry bread with taco meat, pinto beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese.  It was quite good.  

When we left there we drove over to Seneca, MO to see my step-dad Larry and his wife Verna.  It was so good to see them and spend time visiting.  Hopefully we can make it back at least one more time before we leave again the end of May.

We had a much busier schedule planned for our time here but last week I cancelled one of the campouts we planned to attend next month, and shaved one day each off of two rallies we will attend in April and May.  We decided we need more time to take care of things here - between doctor appointments, seeing family and trying to take care of my list of to-do's we need to take care of before we leave, we were just feeling too rushed.

Once back home we had leftovers for dinner.  Dean watched TV and I worked on some paperwork.

Beautiful sunset tonight from Bentley.

Thursday, April 12, 2018 

I left Oswego around 7:20 this morning for the drive to Vinita for my routine appointment with my provider at the Cherokee Health Center, including routine blood work.  Afterwards I stopped at McDonald's for a breakfast biscuit since I had to fast for my blood work.  I needed to have something to eat before I took the rest of my morning medicine .  I try to make my appointments early so I can get in and out quickly but this morning's appointment was a little later than normal, so I made a stop at Style, a department store in Vinita before leaving town.  Unfortunately, while I found a few things I liked, nothing fit right so that ended up being a waste of about 30 minutes!  When I stopped at Walmart on Tuesday I bought a pair of capri jeans and two shirts.  I didn't try them on at the store, but waited until I got home.  Fortunately they all fit and I kept them.  I've been looking for a pair of white capri jeans but so far no luck in finding any I like.  

Dean changed the electric heating element in the hot water tank out while I was gone.  Ours went out and we've been using gas to  heat our water for a few weeks, waiting for a break in the weather and our schedule so he could replace it. 

After a quick lunch (more of a snack for me), I worked on our budget report.  I had not updated our report since the last week of March; so I needed to complete it and record all of our expenses for April to date.  I was glad to get that done and out of the way.  March was not a great month - again dining out being the worse line item.  Overall, we have pretty much stayed within our total budget, but we need to work harder at staying within each line item.  I do think that will be easier for us now.  We've found it's much easier when it's just the two of us because we do most of our own cooking; so we hope it balances out over the rest of the year.  We are managing to set money aside each month in savings so that is the most important thing at this point but we both know we can do a little better job than what we've done the first three months of this year.  Texas was hard on us - we must pace ourselves next year!  Lol!

Dean was ready to get out and do something.  We had discussed getting our mail earlier.  We decided to drive to Pittsburg and pick it up.  It's been two weeks since we last had it delivered.  Unfortunately, we did not receive any of the things we expected, so now we'll have to follow up on those.  We called Brett to see if he might be free for dinner since he's close to Pittsburg, but he already had plans, so hopefully we can meet up with him and his family this weekend.  

We made a stop at Freddy's Steakburgers for a quick dinner before heading home.  Once home we both just chilled - Dean watching TV and I played a game on my computer before going to bed.  


Friday, April 13, 2018 

Today is Friday - and while in Oswego - for us that means breakfast at Circle L Cafe.  We haven't had breakfast here for almost four months - maybe a little longer.  Dean was a very happy camper getting to go to his favorite breakfast spot.  As usual, our breakfast was just perfect and we both really enjoyed it.  It was also great because we saw a number of townsfolk that we haven't seen in quite awhile.  Barb and her friend Bill, Bill & Jonnie, Beckie & Danny, and then Betty, one of my blog followers, came in.  There was lots of hugging going on.  We also saw Chris and Robert, Lacy (the owner) and Dave.  Wow, it was great!  We do miss our hometown when we are gone.  I still need to make some rounds to a few places after we return from our rally next weekend to see a few more people.

After breakfast, we returned to Bentley so I could do the dishes before we leave.  I have an appointment in Tahlequah at the Cherokee Indian Hospital there for a Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) as a follow up to the sarcoidosis I was diagnosed with last April.  We made it by 12:30, got checked in and only had to wait about 10 minutes before it was time for my test.  It takes about an hour.  Dana gave me one prior test, back in October.  She's a very nice young lady and I enjoying visiting with her.  There's a period of about 10-15 minutes while waiting for one of the medications to work between tests that we have an opportunity to visit.  I was telling her about our recent decision to sell our house and live full-time in our RV for a few years so we can travel around the United States.  She was intrigued, so before I left I gave her one of our cards with the blog information on it.  She and her husband have talked about traveling in an RV in the future.  

On the way to Tahlequah, the Cherokee Health Center in Vinita called me.  They have a prescription for me, so I told them we would pick it up on our way back home.  After picking it up, we had to stop at Clanton's in Vinita for dinner.  We love this place.  It's been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives wtih Guy Fierri.  Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn has commented on some of their meals as well.  I've been going there since I was just a young girl with my grandparents and still enjoy it.  Tonight I had their chicken salad croissant - a first and it was delicious, served with fruit.  Dean had their pork chop dinner, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans, side salad and a roll.  He said it was very good.

While there have been tornado warnings out all day in the area we have been in from Tahlequah to Oswego, we have seen little rain until about 3-4 miles south of Oswego.  

It poured as we were heading north into Oswego.

We could see it was pouring in front of us; but by the time we reached the RV Park - it had almost quit.  It's now a beautiful evening and the sun is shining through some light clouds.  Of course they are calling for weather through the night (until 10 pm) so we'll have our weather apps and local TV channels on, listening for any updates.

I hope you've all had a marvelous day and week!  

Saturday, April 7, 2018 - Prom Preparation; Prom Pictures; Afternoon with Kamron; Promenade; Visiting More Family

Saturday, April 7, 2018 - Prom Preparation; Prom Pictures; Afternoon with Kamron; Promenade; Visiting More Family

****Warning---Lots of Photos****

Today is a big day for my 16 year old granddaughter Haleigh.  It will be the first high school prom she has attended.  She has an appointment at 9:15 this morning in Columbus, KS to have her makeup and hair done.  Misti invited me to come along and I was thrilled to be invited.  It was fun to watch as they worked their magic on this young lady and I enjoyed the time visiting with Misti while we waited.

Before

During

Makeup complete!

Now the hair - getting started!

Front - finished

Back-finished.

We made a quick stop at Sonic for a bite to eat before heading back to Oswego.  Misti dropped me off at the RV Park.  She will come back to get me after Haleigh changes into her dress and once Logan and Kamron are getting close.  We had only returned to Misti's a few minutes when Logan and Kamron showed up.  Kamron came straight to me and just hugged me, and said "I missed you Nana."  My heart just melted!  

We spent some time taking pictures inside and then outside,

Misti (Mom), Haleigh, & Brother Logan

Haleigh & Logan

Haleigh & Kamron

Blowing Bubbles!!!

By now - she was cold and ready to quit the pictures!

before we picked up Ty (Haleigh's date) at his house.  We met Haleigh's Grandma Bates at Riverside Park to take more pictures.  

Ty and Haleigh

Loved this picture - notice her shoes (Converse sneakers).

Quite a group for picture taking!

Haleigh's dad, stepmom and her 2 younger siblings stopped by Misti's house afterwards and we took more pictures!  

Haleigh with her Dad, Drew

Stepmom Nikki, Dad Drew
Haleigh
Brother Kegan and Sister Karsyn

Notice the lipstick on Karsyn's cheek - Haleigh's prints!

From here, Kamron and I headed back to Bentley while Misti, her friend Julie, Logan, Haleigh and Ty drove to Joplin to eat dinner at the Japanese Steak House.  The Promenade (arrival and entrance of the Prom attendees) will begin at 6:00, so we'll meet up at Oswego High School at 5:30 to ensure we have a good spot for picture taking.

In the meantime, Kamron made chocolate chip cookies with a little help from Nana.  We visited in between batches.  When all of the baking had been completed, Kamron asked me to french braid her hair - but it's been quite awhile since I've done that and I wasn't happy, so I did a simple braid - it looked better so that's what we went with.  

At 5:30 we headed to the school and then waited!  It ended up getting warmer this afternoon than originally predicted, which was wonderful for the girls as most dresses were sleeveless.  Promptly at 6:00 the first vehicle (a stretch limo) pulled up, however, only one couple exited.  Apparently several seniors rented this to take them to Joplin for their pre-Prom dinner.  All of the other students planned to arrive at the Promenade in separate vehicles except the one couple.  

Haleigh and Ty were about half way through the line of vehicles so we had a little bit of a wait but it was fun to watch each couple pull up and make their entrance.  Haleigh's dad, Drew, allowed Ty to drive his truck.

Ty and Haleigh, Drew's truck behind them.

Kamron enjoyed seeing all of the girls dresses and the various vehicles they arrived in.  Mr. Blackwell, Jr High/High School Music Director was the emcee, introducing each of the couples as they arrived.   Then parents, family and friends had the opportunity to take pictures of them before they went inside.

Kamron & Haleigh

Cousin Kamron, with Haleigh & Logan

Haleigh & Bestfriend Emory

Proud Mama with Daughter Haleigh & Son Logan

Haleigh with Cousin Emilie and her daughter Chanler (who is also a beautiful little redhead).

Once it was over, Dean and I took Kamron back to Parsons.  We visited with Marc, Jennifer and Jaxson for about an hour before we left.  It was wonderful to see them all again.  Hope to get in a few more visits before we leave again.

Jaxson

Jaxson is really into buildings/structures right now.  He loves the Eiffel Tower and the Statute of Liberty.  He had a new one to show us last night - I wish I had taken a picture of him telling us what it was.  He held it in his hands and when his mom and dad told him to tell us what it was - he very proudly said The Empire State Building, and then he told us where it was located, New York. 

We called it a night pretty quick after we returned to Bentley.  I'm so glad we were able to be home so we could participate in all of the fun we experienced today, but this Nana was pretty tired at the end of the day.  

Friday, April 6, 2018 - Busy Day with Paperwork, Visiting, Running Errands and Helping Out

Friday, April 6, 2018 - Busy Day with Paperwork, Visiting, Running Errands and Helping Out 

I had a hair appointment this morning at 8:15 and I was ready!  It has been almost three months since I've had one.  Besides getting a hair cut, going to your beautician is always an opportunity to see friends (and familly, in my case) while there.  After being gone for 3 months I was having a great time.  My mom's cousin Lula Mae was having her hair done when I arrived.  I enjoyed visiting with her. Sarah from Chetopa (just 8 miles south of Oswego) came in.  I jumped from my seat to hug her.  Her daughter Tina and my sister Cindy were great friends in grade school - and still are today.  Before I left Colene from the church we used to attend came in.  I worked with her husband, Marvin, when he served on the city's Housing Committee.  What a great day it was.  As I was leaving, I told Sarah to tell her husband hello from me.  Come to find out he was out in the truck waiting for her, so of course, I had to stop and visit with him before I headed back to Bentley.  In small towns you know most everyone, so going home is always a treat!!

When I returned, I noticed Dean had his golf clubs and shoes sitting out.  I guess he's waiting on me to get back?  (Misti has my van in her garage full of presents for Project Prom, so we only have the truck for a few days)  I forgot my phone.  When he came outside he told me he had called Marla to see if I had left yet - probably while I was outside visiting!  I'm glad I made it back in time for him to make it to the golf course before 10.  When Marla finished with my hair, I asked her if she had time to wax my eyebrows.  She did, but I had to wait for her to finish up with someone else first, so I was there about 30 minutes longer than I had originally intended.

While Dean was gone I was blessed to get the pulmonary function test scheduled that I've been working on for the past 3 months.  Actually a phone call to my doctor's case manager at the Cherokee Health Center in Vinita was what did the trick.  She got on it and had it taken care of before noon.  My appointment with the lung specialist is April 23rd and she's going to try to get me scheduled for the test prior to that.  Unfortunately, we have very few open days left in our schedule between now and then.  I expect I'll end up changing my appointment with the lung specialist.

I also made an appointment with my primary care physician for next week.  When I called they told me she did not have any openings, and then she said oh, wait, she has a cancellation for Tuesday morning at 8.  I was elated.  I love early morning appointments - so I don't end up waiting for long periods of time later in the day.  One of my pet peeves.  

We need to get our taxes done but I've not even started working on those, so I called our tax preparer and asked if he could submit an extension request on our behalf. My plan is to get that all gathered up and to him within the next couple of weeks.  

In between all of the above I was on the phone with different friends and family who called which I thoroughly enjoyed!!

When Dean returned we ate lunch, then worked on trying to sync my Google calendar with his so he would have all of our appointments, campouts, etc. and doesn't have to continually ask me about all of these events.  We managed to sync them to his computer but still haven't found a way to get them to sync to his phone.  It occurred to me as I am writing this that I think he now needs to sync his updated calendar on his computer to his phone.  We'll try that tomorrow.  (As I'm reviewing this before posting - it worked and we are in total sync with each other, well at least our calendars are!  Lol!)

I needed to stop at the bank to take care of a few things and make a deposit.  Afterwards I went to visit with my Aunt Lil.  It's always good to spend time with her.  Shortly before I planned to leave, my daughter called to see if I could take Haleigh (my granddaughter) to Marla's (beauty shop) to get her eyebrows waxed (remember, it's Prom tomorrow), so of course, I said yes, and off I was on another errand.  Afterwards, I dropped Haleigh off at their house, and then headed to the Community Center where Project Prom is being held.  I wanted to drop off the item we purchased at Sam's in Wichita.  I've had it covered up in the truck so Haleigh could not see what it was.  There were 8-10 women out there scurrying around like crazy, unloading tubs, gifts, setting things up in preparation for tomorrow night's activities.  Dean and I used to help with this when our kids were in High School and it was always a fun time.  I'm glad Misti is involved because those memories are very special, although I know it can be time consuming.

Back at Bentley, I quickly threw together chicken and noodles in the Instapot and about 35 minutes later we were enjoyiing a wonderful hot meal on what was now a very cold evening.  Yesterday when we arrived it was beautiful - in the 60's, and today the temperatures have gradually dropped and it was just COLD by the time I got back.  It's supposed to continue to drop this evening, the wind is to pick up and they are calling for rain, sleet, ice and snow.

After dinner I called my granddaughter Kamron to see if she would like to come to the Prom Promenade at the High School tomorrow night to see Haleigh arrive with her date.  She didn't hesitate to say yes!  That made this Nana's heart very happy.  My grandson (Misti's son) Logan lives in Parsons at the college dorms, so he will bring her down with him tomorrow.  Dean and I will take her home after the Promenade is over.  That way we can see her little brother Jaxson, my son Marc and daugher-in-law Jennifer.  We are looking forward to catching up with all of them.

Before we went to bed, it rained for close to an hour and then the snow started.  I remember several March weather events like this and I'm sure we've probably had them in April, but it's been awhile.  It's supposed to warm back up and be in the 70's by mid-week.  Hopefully it will stay somewhat warm from this point forward.  I know everyone is ready!

Thursday, April 5, 2018 - Moving Day - Wichita to Oswego, Catching up with Family

Thursday, April 5, 2018 - Moving Day - Wichita to Oswego, Catching up with Family

It was a little before 5:00 when I rolled out of bed this morning.  I thought seriously about rolling over and staying there, but knowing it's moving day I decided it would be best not to.
I wrote the blog for the previous 3 days to catch us up to date.  I was finishing it as Dean joined me.  After breakfast, we got busy packing and hitching up.  We pulled out of the RV Park by 9:45.  

Our drive from Wichita to Oswego seemed to fly by.  As with every trip to and from Wichita, I just love the drive after Beaumont to around the Severy area through the Flint Hills.  I never get tired of that scenery.  We had to make a stop at Parsons Walmart to pick up a prescription for Dean.  As we were getting ready to take the exit, my son Marc called me.  I glanced at the clock and it was just after 12:00.  I asked him if he called because he had seen us taking the exit at Parsons, he said no, I didn't but I see you now.  He was headed home, going the opposite direction of where we were now - so as we were going down the exit ramp, he was going up the merge ramp.  How funny!  

We pulled into Oswego and were set up by 1:15.  We had a quick bite to eat and then I walked up to pay Todd, owner of the RV Park, for the two months we will be here.  I talked to him for awhile, asking him about a possible rally for our Escapees group.  We walked back to our site so he could show me the sites that would be available if it happened.  It appears there is plenty of room.  He has an underground house that is currently occupied but will be vacant soon, and it could be available for a meeting room, so Dean and I may throw it out as a possibility for a rally or casual campout next year.  

While visiting with Todd and Dean, my sister, Cindy pulled in.  She was dressed up and when I asked her where she had been, she said I just came from that funeral.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  She said I just assumed you probably saw it on Facebook. While I have looked at Facebook a time or two in the past few days I haven't really been on it much, so I evidently didn't get far enough for it to show up.  One of her good friends from high schools' youngest brother passed away earlier this week.  I was shocked.  He was only 52.  We left Dean and Todd to visit and we went inside Bentley.  Other than the kids/grandkids, I've missed my sisters a lot and look forward to spending time with them while we are in Oswego.  Before she left, Misti showed up with Haleigh - she had sent me a text earlier to see if Haleigh could hang out with us for awhile this evening while Misti runs some errands for Project Prom - which is this weekend.  I told her, Absolutely, she could.  We had a great time catching up with Haleigh.  I'm so glad she hung out with Nana and Papa this evening.  Can't wait to see all of the other grandkids while we are here.  We'd love to spend some one on one time with each of them and that will be a goal while we are here.

So, it was a busy and full day, however that's all I have to share today.  It will be a busy time while we are here.  Between doctor visits, seeing and catching up with family members, and attending a few rallies, I'm afraid the time will fly by way faster than the two months we'll be here.  

Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-April 2,3 & 4 - Catching Up

Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-April 2,3 & 4 - Catching Up

Monday - April 2

Sunday evening I decided I would print off our bank statements for the month of April so we could reconcile for the month.  Our printer wouldn't work at all.  So that means today we need to get serious about the purchase of a printer.  We have not checked out Walmart yet so that is where we headed this morning.

They had a Canon that seemed to have everything we wanted but I wanted to make sure it would print on both sides, so I googled it.  Fortunately, it did have that option.  The good news, when it came up on my phone it actually came up on a Wal-mart site where it was advertised for $20 less than the in-store price.  I asked a clerk about it and they told me to take it to Customer Service and ask them about it.  So we did.  I showed the clerk the ad and she said they would ad match anything on Walmart's site so the $60 printer was now only $40.  The ink replacement was more than half less than our previous printer so that is also a good deal.  I doubt we go through 50 pages of paper in a month so hopefully each cartridge will last us for quite a while.

It was so cold I didn't really want to do much else while we were out, so we returned to Bentley.  We had some lunch and just hung out the rest of the day.  Tomorrow we are supposed to meet up with friends we met in South Texas for lunch and we are looking forward to that.

Dean still had not put our water hose out since the temperatures were well below freezing at night and much of the morning so I couldn't do any laundry.

We are going to the show tonight with Jarred to watch "I Can Only Imagine".  Since we always get popcorn and something to drink there we didn't eat before we went.  If we are still hungry afterwards, we'll get something then.  The movie started at 6:15 and we pulled in shortly after Jarred.  The movie was wonderful and if you haven't seen it, you really should!  What a wonderful true story and the song "I Can Only Imagine" is one of my favorite Christian songs!

Once we returned home we settled in to watch some TV - or I should say Dean did and I played a game on my Kindle.



Tuesday - April 3

Well, I'm not sure if it was actually Monday or Tuesday when I first got up - but I went through a very similar episode as I did back in February after we ate at Dirty Al's - so I guess it wasn't the food I ate.  Our anniversary was February 26 for those that might not have read the blog back then, and later that night I had violent dry heaves.  I do not drink alcohol, I ate the same thing Dean did and it wasn't a heavy meal, so there didn't seem to be any reason for it. 

This time I ate some trail mix a while before we went to the show but other than a light lunch I had not eaten since morning.  I woke up in the night feeling queasy and went through the same thing again only not quite as violent as it was the first time.  Nothing ever came up - but it did cause my neck to ache again the next day.  I spent almost all day in bed on Tuesday with one or two more episodes occuring before it finally quit.  I slept most of the time, and not only all night Tuesday but until 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.  I hated that we had to end up canceling our lunch with our friends for today but there was no way I could have made it.  Fortunately we did become friends on Facebook so we can stay in touch with each other and hopefully we'll see them again next winter in South Texas.  I had hoped to get in touch with some other friends today who live near Wichita to see if they might be free for lunch Wednesday, but I felt so bad I didn't even try to call, not knowing if I would feel sick again.  

Sunday we told Heath we'd pick the boys up from school and take them to dinner since he has a late meeting at his school today.  I was unable to go, but Dean picked the boys up and took them to Logan's for dinner.  It's one of their favorite places because of the rolls!  I hated missing out, but I was just in no condition to go anywhere yet - mostly because my neck hurt so badly and I just felt exhausted.  I tried to watch TV while they were gone, but gave that up and laid down again.  

When Dean returned, I was feeling better yet, and later we did watch American Idol from Sunday night.  



Wednesday - April 4

I got up and made coffee - not sure if I could drink it or not.  I felt better but just weak and shaky, however my neck feels at least 90% better today.  I am so thankful for that!  I only have one area where it is still sore, and it isn't as bad as yesterday.  Once the coffee was made I was able to drank it with no problems.  Later I had a little yogurt.  It felt good to get something on my stomach. 

A little later in the morning Dean put the water and sewer hoses out so I could do some laundry.  After the first load was done we went down the road to Subway for a sandwich.  I was able to eat most of it, but Dean finished off the last of it.  Afterwards we stopped by Pathway Church to pick up Emerson's car seat from Jarred.  We are picking her up from her babysitter's about 4:00 since they have something to do tonight.  From there we stopped at Sam's to pick up a couple of their rotissere chickens, and a few other things we needed.  I talked to Misti earlier in the day and she mentioned another Project Prom gift they wanted to get.  She wanted to know if I was going to Joplin on Friday (I had mentioned I might try to do that when I talked to her a few weeks ago), but I didn't think I would probably go now.  She was needing another gift at Sam's.  Since we were going to Sam's today I told her we'd pick it up - so we got that taken care of as well.

One last stop at Walmart for just a few grocery items and we were back home at 2:30.  I was hoping to lay down for just a bit, but I guess my energy level was better because I couldn't set still.  I did another load of laundry.  Dean and I cut the chicken up, placing two cups into individual freezer bags (9 bags).  I'll use these for a variety of meals over the next month or two.  I picked up around Bentley a bit, and Dean put the locks on our table that we purchased a few days ago to keep the table from sliding open while we are traveling or whle I am working at it.  It works great!  

By then it was time to pick up Emerson.  When we arrived she was sleeping and she absolutely did not want to go with us.  It was heartbreaking after she was so loving the other day, but after we got her in the carseat and were back on the main road to the RV Park she was starting to talk.  By the time we made it to Bentley she was herself again.  Whew!  We had a great time with her.  She kept us in stitches.  She plays well by herself too, which is a good thing.  She brought her makeup and brushes, tiny horses, her baby Scarlett and a little stuffed horse.  She really had a good time playing with each one throughout the evening.  We played and played and laughed and laughed.  I'd like to have half of her energy!

She has an active imagination and she used it all evening playing her make-up games with us.  It seemed no time until Mom and Dad showed up to get her.  We visited for a while before they left to head home.  Chances are we won't get to see them again until September or October.  April and May are full months while we are in Oswego, and then we'll leave for Matt's and our New England trip.  We've sure enjoyed our time here in Wichita with both Heath and Jarred's families.  Thanks to both for the good times.  We had a great time with all of you!

Tomorrow we'll pack up Bentley and head to Oswego, our home base.  We're anxious to see all of our kids, Misti, Marc and Brett and their spouses that live near "home", plus the grandkids Logan, Haleigh; Kamron, Jaxson; Dacy and Tucker.  Some more good times are ahead!

Sunday, April 1, 2018 - Happy Easter! Church with Family; Late Birthday Party for Emmy; Visit with Heath's Family;

Sunday, April 1, 2018 - Happy Easter!  Church with Family; Late Birthday Party for Emmy; Visit with Heath's Family;


Happy Easter to everyone!  What a blessing to be able to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  For us it's extra special to celebrate at Pathway Church this morning where our son Jarred is Cafe Leader.  We attended the service there at 9:00 a.m.  

It was 30 degrees when we headed to Pathway this morning, so Dean dropped me at the front door while he parked Maxx - always in the back 40 so no one dings his doors or sides since he's so wide!  I went on in and I was greeted by a couple "Tony" and  "Diane" I think it was.  Diane walked over to talk to another couple and I was visiting with Tony.  I asked him if they had plans after church for Easter.  He pointed to his wife, who was standing with the couple, and said yes they were having lunch at their house, that his wife's parents were here from Pittsburg, KS.  Now, for those that know me, my ears immediately perked up - because Pittsburg is in our neck of the woods.....as he's saying this to me I notice this young lady walking our way with a phone like she's taking a picture...with a quick thought that she looked alot like my daughter Misti....I looked back to him about to say something about where we were from and Pittsburg was close to us....blah,blah...when I realized Haleigh was standing next to the lady with the phone pointed at me.   It was my Misti!...and she was videoing the surprised look on my face as I said to Tony - That's my daughter!  Once we hugged and I wiped the tears out of my eyes from being so surprised and overwhelmed, I explained to him that this was my daughter and granddaughter.  They live in Oswego, Kansas and we haven't seen them since the first of January because we've been in Texas all winter.  He said, well that explains why you all were hugging and such.  I just assumed she lived here so wasn't sure what was going on. 

I was totally taken by surprise.  And then I noticed Isaiah - my cousin Scott's grandson, Isaiah was also with them.  Haleigh watched Isaiah when his mom was working in Oswego.  She recently moved to Wichita.  Misti was able to bring him to church and I was so glad she did.  He's just a sweet young man and I was so glad to see him too.  Come to find out Jarred and Andrea knew all about this planned surprise!  After church they had a place set up to take pictures and here is our picture:

Back:  Misti, Me, Dean, Andrea & Jarred
Front:  Haleigh & Isaiah

Unfortunately, Misti had to get back to Oswego and couldn't stay to have lunch.  She needs to study and the weather forecast is calling for some sleet later today in southeast Kansas so its best they get back before they run into that.  

Dean and I went back to Bentley to change clothes and then we went to Applebee's for lunch.  Thank you to Heath & Casey for the Christmas gift card that we used for our lunch today.  We enjoyed it.  Afterwards we returned to the RV Park.  I straightened things up and did the morning dishes before setting down to begin work on today's blog post.  

We are going to Andrea's Uncle's home (Bob & Elaine) once all of the church services are over (they had a total of 3 services this morning), for Easter dinner and to celebrate Emerson's birthday.  Jarred, Andrea and Emerson were in Colorado on her birthday so they haven't celebrated with family here yet.  I'm glad it worked out that we are here so we could participate as well.  It will be the first birthday party we've been able to attend for her.  While typing this we received a text they were on their way, so we were out the door pretty quickly.

What a fun time - great people, great lunch and oh yum, the desserts!  And the star of today's events was something else.  Emerson came into the room with her eyes closed, because her main present was too large to wrap or hide.  

She ran straight to her new vanity and play makeup.  It was so cute watching her.  It was apparent she has watched her Mommy more than once.  She was using her brushes for all the right things - eyebrows, cheeks, contour, etc.  So cute!  

She also received a really nice Vera Bradley duffel bag from Granny & Papa Braitsch which will be wonderful for their travels.  Uncle Bob, Aunt Elaine, Steven and Suzanne gave her a big Easter basket full of goodies - candy, stuffed bunny, 2 shirts and pajamas (with matching pajamas for her baby doll).  

Then we watched her hunt for Easter eggs in their basement.  If it was an egg she would pick it up and put it in the basket but if it was something else - she would just lay it down - it wasn't an egg!  It was pretty cute!  She just couldn't bring herself to pick up something that wasn't an egg if she was doing an Easter egg hunt!  What a fun time for her and for all of us to see the joy in her little eyes.  

It was almost 4:00 when we left, so we drove straight to Heath's to visit for a little while before heading home for the evening.  We had a really nice visit with Heath and family for about an hour.  Heath will be late coming home from work on Tuesday evening so we are going to pick the boys up from school and take them to dinner  It works great for him as Casey will be out of town.  We look forward to spending the evening with them and hopefully making things a little easier for everyone.

Back at Bentley I worked on this blog post and we planned to watch American Idol later.  I got busy with the blog and trying to read a few emails.  Dean started watching a show and just forgot, so we are thankful we now have the opportunity to watch it at a later date with our Firestick!  It's all good!

  

Saturday, March 31, 2018 - Lamar's Doughnuts; Spending the day with Heath & Family; Doing a Little Shopping; Watching KU

Saturday, March 31, 2018 - Lamar's Doughnuts; Spending the day with Heath  & Family; Doing a Little Shopping; Watching KU

One of the things that Heath's family introduced us to years ago was Lamar's Doughnuts.  They really do make some amazing baked goods and we LOVE their apple fritters.  They are still our favorite of all the places we've tried them.  All of their other products are also delicious - well, at least the ones we've tried!  Emerson and I both were anxious for Papa to get around this morning so he could go pick some up for our breakfast.

Today we plan to spend the day with Heath and his family.  Their boys are growing up so fast.  Abram is 10, Gideon will be 9 in just a little over a month, and Roman is 7.  Abram is 5' 2", and looks much older than he is.  They remind me a lot of Dean's boys when they were younger.  

Emerson woke up not too long after we got up.  We cuddled for awhile until she was fully awake.  She had lots of questions about everything - she's really in that Why? stage.  Papa finally left to go get our doughnuts and we thoroughly enjoyed them when he returned.  

Jarred and Andrea picked Emerson up around 9:30.  It was 10:45 before we made it to Heath's.  Dean helped Heath with a few projects and I played cards with Roman and Abram - Skipbo.  I don't think I've ever played it before but it was a fun game.  Roman won the first game and Abram won the second.  Afterwards I went outside with them and we shot baskets, and played PIG and HORSE.  Papa joined us towards the end once he and Heath managed to get their lawnmower running.

Roman and Abram

Roman on his cool bike that lets him turn complete circles.

Of course I lost those to Abram, but I was surprised I even managed to make several baskets since I'm not very athletic - especially at basketball.  But we had lots of fun and that is what matters.  It was also some good exercise which I really needed.

For lunch we all rode together to McAlister's Deli.  We really like this place.  Dean had a McAlister Club and I had a Turkey Peppercorn Sandwich.  They were both very good and we really love their sweet tea.  Lunch and dinner conversations are always interesting with kids - nothing outstanding, just fun!

It was well after 2-2:30 before we returned.  We hung around for awhile longer visiting some more.  I took a few pictures of Gideon and some of his favorite things.  He is a whiz at putting Lego sets together.  I can't remember the number of hours he spent on this but I think they said about 12-14 hours over a few days.  The age range for this particular Lego set was 14+.  He loves music and recently got a guitar.  Shortly before we left he came out to the living room with a rubik cube that he likes to work with.  

Gideon - I have no idea how many pieces are in this Lego spaceship - but it's amazing that he could put this together on his own.  He's put many sets together over the years.

When we left their house, we headed to Best Buy to look at some printers.  We really didn't find anything we liked that well, at least for the price I was hoping to pay.  They do have a good selection. We'll check Walmart one day this week and I'll also take a look on Amazon.  Our next stop was Lowe's.  We bought a "lock" to put underneath the table to hold each side of the leaf tight to the table so it does not come apart when we are traveling or I am using it.

By then we were both tired and just wanted to head back to Bentley.  Dean messed around some with the TV.  He downloaded the Dish Anywhere App to the Amazon Fire Stick and we discovered that our Dish Tailgator Receiver is not compatible with the app.  We can use the app with the laptop just fine but that requires an HDMI cord strung across the room - which can be done - just a bit of a pain to mess with on a regular basis.  We had to call Dish to find this out, but while on the line I also complained about channels not coming in well - specifically HGTV and The Food Channel.  Of course they will send a report to a tech and have them get back with me.  Our Tailgator is 4 years old.  I imagine its "out of date" and our option will end up being upgrading to a new one.  We plan to use the Firestick with HULU and Amazon Prime as much as possible during the month of April and see how well it works for us - we might even extend that into May since we will be camping in at least 8 different spots in KS, OK and MO during that time.  It should give us a pretty good idea how well it will work.  If we like it well enough we may drop Dish altogether.  We can always upgrade to a different Dish setup down the road if we determine at some point the streaming does not work for us.

We settled in to watch the KU Jayhawks play basketball while enjoying our leftover BBQ and Chinese meals.  Both still tasted pretty good.  Unfortunately, the Hawks got off to a slow start and lost, even though they worked hard to make a comeback.  

We didn't last too long after the game was over before we headed to bed.